Star Crossed Triangles: An EZ Quilting Triangle Challenge Quilt

Posted on December 8, 2015December 7, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilt Shows, Quilting / 5 Comments

When the Modern Quilt Guild issued a challenge sponsored by EZ Quilting, I couldn’t wait. I was in the midst of a “triangle phase” so this was perfect timing. I decided that if I was going to take on this challenge, I was going to really embrace triangles, and create a design pieced entirely with that shape.

Star Crossed Triangles: A MQG EZ Quilt Triangle Challenge Quilt

The 45 degree mini template arrived in the mail, and I began drafting.

EZ Quilting Template and prepared triangles

Triangles are intriguing in their ability to transform fabrics through careful cutting and reassembly. I selected quite a few brightly colored, distinctively patterned fabrics to form octagons and stars that are the focal points of the quilt. The overall design includes several blocks that are all low volume fabrics to give some areas for a visual rest.

Given the small scale of the pieces of the quilt, I decided to go with an English Paper Piecing technique to insure that the corners of each triangle would match up perfectly. The majority of the 866 triangles in the quilt are cut with the provided template, but there are additional triangle shapes to fill in between blocks and around the edges. When I took a step back to look at the completed top, I decided that the all-triangle approach was a bit too rigid. I began experimenting with options to break up the field of triangles, and eventually landed on adding brightly colored appliqué circles. Each circle is about the size of a dime and is hand appliquéd to the finished quilt top.

Quilt top with circles roughly placed

Each star and octagon is quilted with coordinating thread using ruler work on a longarm. The spaces between each of these shapes is filled with wavy, swirling, organic free-motion quilting.

This quilt was my second entry into the QuiltCon contest, and I also entered this quilt into the Paducah show of the American Quilter’s Society in the category: Small Wall Quilts, Longarm Quilted.

Quilt Stats

Title: Star Crossed Triangles

Size: 36.75″ x 41″

Techniques: English Paper Piecing, Hand Appliqué

Quilting: Ruler work and free motion quilting on an A-1 Longarm

Fabric: Scrappy low volume and brightly colored prints

Batting: Hobbs Heirloom cotton batting

Thread: Pieced with grey Decobob by Wonderfil, quilted with Aurifil in coordinating colors

Binding: Scrappy low volume prints cut on the bias in 2″ wide strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched to the back

Goal #22 is finished!

Moroccan Star: A Michael Miller Challenge Quilt

Posted on December 7, 2015December 6, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Fabric, Finished Quilts, Quilt Shows, Quilting, Quilting Community / 5 Comments

This summer, the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) announced this year’s Michael Miller fabric challenge, and I couldn’t resist signing up. Those metallic prints are so much fun! I had an idea at that point, but once the fabrics arrived, I decided to change directions based on the exact prints that arrived.

Glittery metallics made me think of shining stars and opulence. I typically prefer silver, but for this project I was really drawn to the gold printed fabrics. To supplement the package of fabric sent by Michael Miller, I purchased some of the white and gold confetti dot also from the Glitz collection, and a Michael Miller black solid.

This design started with the fabric printed to imply interlocking circles. I started experimenting by creating circles highlighting different sections of the print. Once the circle sizes were determined, I drafted the motif that would create the final star design. I started the construction by hand appliquéing the circles to the white background pieces. Those pieces were then added to the solid black background.

For the quilting, I wanted to break up the background by using different quilting designs on either side of the appliquéd star motifs. The quilting thread is a very dark grey which added a bit of extra dimension to the solid color surface. I used the longarm for this quilt and the circle pattern was entirely free-motion using a dot to dot technique. It is far from perfect, but it was the first time I had attempted this, so it could have been far worse! I tend to like a hand drawn quality in free motion quilting, so I ultimately decided to leave it in and embrace the character of the piece.

The lines around the stars and the tightly spaced vertical lines are also free-motion, but for the horizontal lines on the left side of the quilt I did lock the machine on the track before hand guiding the stitching.

This quilt was one of my entries in to QuiltCon, so now I (like many of you!) are waiting to hear which quilts we will see at the show in February.

Quilt Stats

Title: Moroccan Stars

Size: 41″ x 40.5″

Techniques: Needle turn appliqué

Quilting: Free motion and linear quilting done on an A-1 Longarm

Fabric: Michael Miller Glitz collection and Michael Miller solid

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 in black

Thread: Hand appliquéd with Gutermann Mara 100 in white, Quilted with 50wt Aurifil in a a dark grey

Binding: Michael Miller solid black fabric (to match background) cut in 2″ wide bias strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched to the back

Goal #23 is finished!

Bits and Pieces

Posted on December 6, 2015December 6, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Blog Information, Finished Quilts, Quilt Shows, Quilting Community / 3 Comments

November really flew by this year, particularly with the deadline for QuiltCon entries looming at the end of it! Here is an overview of the projects that have been happening in the last few weeks.

First, I want to thank everyone who visited during the Blogger’s Quilt Festival hosted by Amy from Amy’s Creative Side. (Thank you for all of your work in hosting this fantastic event!) It is so exciting to have the opportunity to see so much wonderful work gathered in one spot. Each time I discover even more talented people to follow. This time around I was ecstatic to receive the prize for the Mini Quilt Category. (My quilt actually came in second, but the first place winner had already received a larger prize, so the quilty love was spread around.)

Moda sponsored this category and they really outdid my wildest expectations with this box!

Inside the box was a tote bag filled with a large fat eighth bundle, two layer cakes, three charm packs, a tin of more fabric, Aurifil thread, spray baste, pins & needles, and lots of other notions. I am so excited to start creating with all of these amazing products. (Actually I have already used some of the fabric!) Thank you, Moda!

The past week held deadlines for entries to both the Modern Quilt Guild’s (MQG) QuiltCon and the American Quilter’s Society (AQS) show in Paducah. My entries were similar to both shows, and I will be writing more in depth posts about each quilt in the coming weeks.

Two of my QuiltCon entries were made specifically for challenges. The first is the Michael Miller Challenge quilt. It is hand appliquéd and free-motion quilted on the longarm.

Moroccan Star: A MQG Michael Miller Challenge Quilt Entry

The other challenge quilt was for the EZ Quilting triangle challenge. The entire top is English Paper Pieced triangles and is longarm quilted with ruler work and free-motion techniques. I also entered this quilt in the AQS show in the category: Small Wall Quilt, Longarm Quilted.

Star Crossed Triangles: A MQG EZ Quilt Triangle Challenge Quilt

My third QuiltCon entry was based on a mini quilt that I made earlier this year. It was machine pieced and matchstick quilted on my domestic machine. This was also entered into the AQS show in the Large Wall Quilt, Modern category.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

This quilt was a fairly last minute addition to my entries. It is a block based, machine pieced quilt finished with an edge to edge computerized quilt design that I designed using AutoCad. For AQS I entered this in the category: Small Wall Quilt, Pictorial. This is definitely a representation of an object, but it is also well outside the box for the types of quilts typically entered in this division.

Can You See (m)E Now?

The final entry for QuiltCon is one of my favorite mini quilts and it went into the small quilt category. It is also entered into the miniature quilt category for AQS.

Rainbow Roundabout

I have also (finally) set up a business Facebook page. I hope you will like and follow along with me there, too. The link is also available toward the top right of this page.

I hope you have had a wonderful November and are enjoying the rest of the upcoming holidays! I am looking forward to checking more projects off my WIP list this month and catching up on blog reading as well!

The Collection Quilt

Posted on November 8, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilting, Quilting Community / 6 Comments

This week I finished sewing The Collection Quilt by Carolyn Friedlander. This quilt is created as a “Block of the Month” style quilt embracing the slow sewing movement- most of the design is hand sewn using needle turn appliqué. I am really excited about this quilt, and I am even more excited to be teaching this project next year at one of my very favorite local quilt shops, Sew to Speak, in Columbus, Ohio.

The class will be held once a month for ten months. Prior to the first class, we are scheduling a day that I will be in the shop if you would like to discuss the project and fabric selection.

My original fabric pull with the pattern and a colored sketch to help with fabric placement

The pattern includes a line drawing of the quilt that can be colored in to help with color and fabric choices. We will have a few color schemes to look at, or you can create your own- this quilt has almost endless possibilities! (I’m thinking about doing one with a lot of pink the next time around!)

The first nine classes will focus on one section each. The tenth class will cover final quilt top assembly, discussion of quilting options/techniques, and binding. Carolyn Friedlander has written this pattern to be very friendly to anyone just starting hand appliqué by gradually introducing new variations in each block.

Section one focuses on learning basting and the appliqué stitch on straight lines.

Section 1

Section two introduces convex curves and allows for a lot of creativity in fabric choices.

Section 2

In section three you will learn reverse appliqué along concave curves.

Section 3

Section four teaches you to stitch to an interior point. You also have the opportunity to experiment with additional fabric substrates. In the sample I used a lightweight denim and a cotton/silk blend.

Section 4

Corners are added in section five.

Section 5

Section six combines straight lines, corners, and curves in reverse appliqué.

Section 6

In section seven you will experience overlapping pieces.

Section 7

Section eight includes several acute angles

Section 8

Finally, in section nine, you will create the design with narrow strips of fabric, and reverse appliqué created from cutting slits into the upper layer of fabric.

Section 9

By adding new skills with each section, you will be able to make the quilt without becoming overwhelmed. With the block completed, the final quilt top goes together quickly.

I quilted this project on my longarm using an edge to edge computerized design that I created. I thought that the linear aesthetic complemented the graphic quality of the pattern. This quilt (like most ) looks even better in person, so if you are in central Ohio, I hope you will stop by Sew to Speak to have a look at it. Maybe you will even sign up for the class!

Quilt Stats

Title: The Collection Quilt (Designed by Carolyn Friedlander)

Size: 40.5″ x 51.5″

Techniques: Needle turn appliqué, machine piecing

Quilting: Computerized linear edge to edge pattern (my original design) done on an A-1 Elite longarm

Fabric: High quality quilting cotton, including many prints designed by Carolyn Friedlander, lightweight cotton denim, a cotton/silk blend satin.

Batting: Warm and White cotton batting

Thread: Appliqué and final machine piecing done using Gutermann Mara 100 in grey, quilted with 50wt Cotton WonderFil in white

Binding: Grey Carolyn Friedlander and Cotton and Steel Prints, cut on the bias in 2″ wide strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched to the back.

Goal #21 is finished!

The Web We Weave: Mini Quilt #33

Posted on October 31, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Mini Quilt Mania 2015, Quilting / 5 Comments

Happy Halloween! I have been eager to try out metallic threads with the longarm, and this Halloween-appropriate mini quilt was a great opportunity to experiment.

The piecing on this quilt top is very simple with only five pieces. I cut a 12.5″ square out of solid black fabric and then slashed it in two places where I wanted to indicate abstract tree branches. The fabric for the trees is a batik that is actually printed to look like trees, but I cut it on the cross-grain to create a Birch tree-esque effect on a slightly larger scale. The resulting quilt top gave me a great space to play with the metallic thread.

Now for the fun part! I was a bit nervous about trying metallic thread since I hadn’t yet ordered any specialty needles for the longarm. The metallic thread I chose was a silver WonderFil with a rayon core. I loaded a medium grey cotton quilting thread in the bobbin, and decided to give it a try. It was awesome! One of the nice features of the A-1 machine is a small pad that the top thread feeds through which holds a few drops of liquid thread conditioner. It really does help decrease thread breakage. I practiced some ruler work with the main lines of the web, defining the tree branches, and some background work with black cotton thread. The curved areas of the web are free motion.

The backing and binding is made from the same black fabric used in in the quilt top. The batting is Hobbs 80/20 in black which I pulled from a sample pack I received earlier this year. It was so nice to not have to worry about white batting working its way through the fabric of the quilt. My cat adds enough white fluff to my dark quilts without having the batting contribute!

Quilt Stats

Title: Web We Weave

Size: 12″ x 12″

Techniques: Machine Piecing

Quilting: Ruler work and free motion quilting on an A-1 Elite longarm machine

Fabric: American Made Brand black cotton and a batik print from my stash

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 Batting in black

Thread: Pieced with black Gutermann Mara 100, Quilted with silver metallic WonderFil thread with a rayon core (with medium grey Signature cotton thread in the bobbin), black cotton quilting thread

Binding: Matching bias binding, cut in 2″ wide strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched on the back

What was new?

Metallic thread on a longarm

Quilt 33 / 50

Goal #1 is finished!